Huron Heights Lightning Hawks boys win Bluewater basketball championship

The Huron Heights Lightning Hawks of Kincardine travelled to the Bluewater boys basketball championships in Owen Sound, Tuesday, and brought home the championship banner.

Attending the tournament were winners of each regional championship, including Sydenham (Owen Sound), G.C. Huston (Southampton), Hepworth, John Diefenbaker (Hanover), Osprey (Maxwell), Mildmay-Carrick, Georgian Bay (Meaford) and Huron Heights. 

The first game was against Hepworth. This was a great team effort led by Mack Beisel and Holden Stevenson with eight points each for the 38-16 win.

Game 2 saw the boys match up with JDSS of Hanover. Facing an extremely-aggressive team, Lightning Hawks were able to shut down their opponents' offence, and come away with a 26-13 win, with M. Beisel scoring 10 and Jordan Beisel five.

In Game 3, the boys faced Georgian Bay. Leading the team with an impressive 15 points was J. Beisel, as the Lightning Hawks came away with a 28-13 win.

After winning their pool, the boys faced Sydenham of Owen Sound. The Lightning Hawks got off to a slow start, and were down, 16-8, at the half. The boys showed their incredible defence during the second half, and the comeback was on.

With the Lightning Hawks closing the gap to 15-16 and holding Sydenham scoreless through the second half, J. Beisel was fouled with 12 seconds remaining in the game. He held strong under the pressure and sank both shots, to lead Huron Heights to an impressive 17-16 victory. J. Beisel again led the team in scoring, with 11 points. 

The final opponent was a familiar one, G.C. Huston of Southampton. Huron Heights had faced G.C. earlier in the season at the KDSS tournament in the championship game. In the previous meeting, five of the Lightning Hawks had missed the game due to hockey, so the boys were eager for a rematch to avenge the loss. 

It was obvious early on that it was going to be a nail-biter, and the boys were down by two at half-time. The Lightning Hawks again showed their grit and determination, and came away with a 26-21 win to capture the championship banner. J. Beisel once more led the team in scoring with 12 points, followed by point-guard Wilson Shipp with five.

Leading scorers in the tournament were: Jordan Beisel, 47 points; Mack Beisel, 25; and Wilson Shipp, 19. Holden Stevenson and Justin Nesbitt both played incredible defence, and were responsible for grabbing many rebounds at the net.

The championship is Huron Heights' second in as many years, and wraps up the Lightning Hawks season, as they finish with a 10-1 record. 



The Huron Heights Lightning Hawks boys basketball team includes coach Cindy Black (left), Matt McCabe, Angus Sharpe, Carson Boettinger, Cody McLelland, Holden Stevenson, Jordan Moulton, Jordan Beisel, Wilson Shipp, Mack Beisel, Justin Nesbitt, Zach McCabe, John Graham